bejohnson
07-24-2004, 11:00 PM
We had one heck of a thunderstorm today.
As I was leaving the transmitter site this afternoon about 1730 the operator downtown started the generator and switched the site over to the generator feed from the utility. I looked at the RADAR and there was a very small cell maybe 1 mile in diameter about 2 miles west and drifting toward us.
I went ahead and started to leave for dinner when the first bolt of lightning struck one of the two 1200' towers at the site. Lightning strikes are not that rare but I'm usually inside and don't get to see one. I parked on top of a hill about 1000' away and watched. There were 3 more intense strikes to the towers over the next couple of minutes and then the rain started down in sheets. It rained so hard that I could not see 25' from the truck. That small storm cell drifted right over the site and blew up into a major storm.
During this time the wind started gusting to about 60 mph and there was another huge lightning strike to the main tower. By this time the utility power had failed and the entire area was without power except the transmitter site and the other communication facilities co-located here.
About this time the cell phone rang and it was the operator at the studio calling to inform me that the NTSC transmitter had gone off the air. I went back down to the site and as I was getting out of the truck there was two lightning strikes to the towers. I went in and reset the cause of the problem and as I was inside the entire building shook from a huge lightning strike.
Luckily there was no damage done to the transmitter site due to the grounding and protection that we have installed but I did lose a NIC in one of my personal computers in the RV I have here for living in during the week.
The rain gauge showed about 4.5 inches of rain in about a 45 minute period and I counted at least eight lightning strikes just on the property here. The utility power has just been restored at 0015 and I think I'm going to find something to eat. :D It has been a heck of an evening.
As I was leaving the transmitter site this afternoon about 1730 the operator downtown started the generator and switched the site over to the generator feed from the utility. I looked at the RADAR and there was a very small cell maybe 1 mile in diameter about 2 miles west and drifting toward us.
I went ahead and started to leave for dinner when the first bolt of lightning struck one of the two 1200' towers at the site. Lightning strikes are not that rare but I'm usually inside and don't get to see one. I parked on top of a hill about 1000' away and watched. There were 3 more intense strikes to the towers over the next couple of minutes and then the rain started down in sheets. It rained so hard that I could not see 25' from the truck. That small storm cell drifted right over the site and blew up into a major storm.
During this time the wind started gusting to about 60 mph and there was another huge lightning strike to the main tower. By this time the utility power had failed and the entire area was without power except the transmitter site and the other communication facilities co-located here.
About this time the cell phone rang and it was the operator at the studio calling to inform me that the NTSC transmitter had gone off the air. I went back down to the site and as I was getting out of the truck there was two lightning strikes to the towers. I went in and reset the cause of the problem and as I was inside the entire building shook from a huge lightning strike.
Luckily there was no damage done to the transmitter site due to the grounding and protection that we have installed but I did lose a NIC in one of my personal computers in the RV I have here for living in during the week.
The rain gauge showed about 4.5 inches of rain in about a 45 minute period and I counted at least eight lightning strikes just on the property here. The utility power has just been restored at 0015 and I think I'm going to find something to eat. :D It has been a heck of an evening.